


Cold Evenings and Flushed Feelings

by I_Otaku



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Gen, Pretty gender neutral, Rated for Karkat's potty mouth, equius x reader, guess who wanted some hurt/comfort from Eq, reader x equius, this bitch
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-24
Updated: 2016-01-24
Packaged: 2018-05-15 21:37:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5801155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_Otaku/pseuds/I_Otaku
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Equius flashed back for a moment to the times he had seen you smiling and laughing, and then to a brief conversation he had had with Rose, nearly two sweeps ago when you had been hospitalized. "Humans are naturally warmer than your species, one of your blood color especially. That is why a decreased body temperature can be very very dangerous. That means a human's body is unable to maintain it's proper balance, and they are very vulnerable to serious illness."</p><p>Reader falls to the mountains of snow at their hive, and a certain b100 b100d comes to the rescue</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cold Evenings and Flushed Feelings

'Why is it snowing so goddamn much?!' You thought to yourself, rubbing cold hands over your bundled up arms. The winter had fully set in now, and while there had been no snow in the previous month as there should have, it was now coming down relentlessly. Your house although situated nicely, was soon covered and caked in the snow, making it nearly impossible to walk or open your door. 

It was especially horrid when it continued to fall, piling up after nearly two straight days into nearly three and a half feet. You would go out and shovel the walkway to your house every few hours, but after the fourth time you couldn't bring yourself to. You noticed your hands shaking as you put on your somewhat wet gloves and realized it was a bad idea to go back outside. You instead made more hot chocolate, and opened up your (f/c) laptop to try and talk to one of your friends. Nobody seemed to be online, it seemed many of the trolls were too busy staying warm with their matesprits or moirails, or in a few cases, being snowed in while at one of Feferi's parties. 

A small indigo bubble popped up at the bottom of your pesterchum menu, signifying Equius had just come online. Sipping your drink and slightly shivering, you shot the blue blood a message. 

'Holding up well?' It said, as the troll's blood color made his body temperature lower than that of Aradia's or Karkat's. 

After a minute or so, you shivered again, and moved to retrieve a blanket to try and warm up. As a child your friends and family believed you had a permanent health problem, because of your pale complexion for your skin tone and unnaturally low body temperature. Returning to the couch, you wrapped up in the fuzzy blanket and read the message that had arrived while you were gone. 

'D--> As a STRONG b100 b100d, I am handling this precipation phenomenon e%ceptionally well.' 

It said, Equius clearly unaffected by the cold. His message made you slightly chuckle, the troll always going on about his strength and poe-faced handling of all these new human experiences. You began typing a reply, as a sneeze rattled through your cold form, causing you to smash a few keys on the keyboard and send the half jumbled reply. 

"Crap." You muttered, sniffling as you typed an apology. 

'I'm glad you're doingfwnd sm'  
'Sorry, I sneezed and hit a few keys accidentally.' 

Your messages read. A reply appeared almost instantly. 

'D--> Are you feeling quite alright _____? It is unlike you- although a human- to send messages without a proper e%amination of their content.'

'Just a bit cold.' 

You sniffled again, your legs and arms twitching slightly. Winter was always your favorite time of year, but you got sick so easily it had resulted in a lot of hospital trips when you were younger. You had talked to Equius about it a few times, as when he alowed you to shake his hand for the first time--extremely cautiously as not to grip it-- your hand had been colder than his. From meeting other humans, he could tell this was not normal. 

'D--> You have not been out in this weather, have you?'  
'D--> It is much too dangerous for someone of your health and STRENGTH to be outdoors.' 

His messages said. 

'Somebody's gotta shovel all that snow, haha'

You said, trying to distract both Equius and yourself from how you were feeling. 

'D--> ______ I forbid you from going outside again.'  
D--> You must stay inside and ensure you are warm enough, you of all the humans are the most susceptible to the cold.'

'I've gotta keep the snow pile from getting any taller, I could get trapped in here.'

You message him, pulling the blanket tighter around yourself as the cold refused to dissipate. It was unnaturally cold for this time of year, and your body was not handling it well. The heat was on in the small house you lived in, but the snow seemed to deem the heating pointless. 

'D--> Ine%cusable. Stay in your hive, and focus on your human 'homeostasis.' '

Other bubbles began to pop up on the computer screen, seeming that other people were now online and attempting to contact you. You replied to a peeved Karkat, who was complaining about all this 'WHITE SHIT' keeping him from returning to his hive, and trapped with a few of the other trolls who had attended Feferi's get together. You let out a weak laugh, and read through some of the other messages you received, replying as was necessary. Sollux was equally displeased with being trapped with 'KK the nooksniffer,' where Feferi wanted to make sure you were doing alright. 

 

You hadn't noticed when you passed out, but you were awoken by a tingling and jittering in your legs. You pulled the blanket tighter around yourself, your nose now turning pink and two shirts, hoodie and two pairs of pants feeling like nothing at all. Your eyes ached, and the room slightly spun as you moved to look at your laptop which was left open beside you. A few windows were open, the three trolls you were talking to had bombarded you with messages. Feferi's fish puns made reading her messages in your haze impossible, as well as Karkat's refusal to type not in caps lock. 

Equius' messages were the only ones your eyes and brain could stomach, the blue text slightly swimming across the display as your read it. 

'D--> ______, are you feeling quite well?'  
'D--> ______ I order you to respond.'  
'D--> I have spoken to Feferi and she said you had not responded to her either.'  
'D--> That is very unlike you, I demand you cease this f001ishness and speak to me.'  
'D--> Karkat has also reciprocated this.'

The tips of your fingers now unsettlingly numb, pecked away a response. 

' 'M fune Euqius,'

It read, as your head began to pound once again, leading you to retreat into your blanket cocoon with a shiver. 

'D--> ______ you are clearly not "fine." '  
'D--> I am-'

You couldn't finish reading the message, your eyes unfocusing as you felt yourself blacking out again. 

 

Equius had carefully donned his warmest jacket and favorite olive scarf to exit his hive, the snow bad, but not as bad as it was in other areas. You had ceased responding to his messages, and once you did again, it was clear you were not well. He worried, and broke into a worried sweat when your response had been as jumbled as it was. He was curious as to what human condition had caused you to be naturally so cold, and often times had kept you company both in real life and online when you were ill. 

As your friend, he naturally worried about this constant air of illness you carried even on your best days. Dredging through the snow and down the somewhat covered sidewalk, he thought back to how you described your sickness which made his stomach drop. 

"I was very sick when I was born," You had said. "I wasn't expected to live very long, because I was so cold and so weak and fragile." Equius had listened intently, as you spoke, one of the nicest and kindest people he knew, about how you were expected to be six feet below before your first birthday. It hurt him, you believing you were "living on borrowed time" as you put it. 

His pace quickened the more he dwelled on the thought, before the snow was up to his knees, and he had trouble walking. Eventually, he took a few large steps to walk on the edge of the plowed street, closing the gap between the two hives. He quickly withdrew his phone to check if you had responded again, but you had gone offline. This made the blue blooded troll begin jogging, taking the necessary precautions to arrive at your hive as quickly as possible. 

The closer he got, the heavier the snow became, upon finally reaching your place where the unmoved snow reached nearly to his hips. Luckily, since you had shoveled priorly, Equius could make it up to your door quickly. Jangling the door handle, he muttered a "Fiddlesticks," before crunching the door knob in his grip and forcing the frozen door open. The frozen breeze blew through your common room, rousing a nasty shiver from you on the couch. 

Quickly closing the door, Equius removed his scarf and jacket, tossing them to the side to kneel on the floor beside you. Hesitantly, he removed one of his gloves and slowly, delicately, placed his palm against your forehead. Even though he had just been outside, your skin was cold and clammy to him, and his fear set firmly in his stomach. 

Equius flashed back for a moment to the times he had seen you smiling and laughing, and then to a brief conversation he had had with Rose, nearly two sweeps ago when you had been hospitalized. "Humans are naturally warmer than your species, one of your blood color especially. That is why a decreased body temperature can be very very dangerous. That means a human's body is unable to maintain it's proper balance, and they are very vulnerable to serious illness."

Somewhat shakily, Equius lifted you in your blanket wrap into his arms, your legs hanging limply. He carried you to where he knew your 'bedroom' was, and set you down in your bed. He pulled all the blankets around you, propping you sitting against the headboard of the bed so your blood-pumper could be at maximum efficiency. After a moment of no response, Equius left your room to gather more blankets, opening door after door to try and find a linen closet and more blankets. 

 

 

You weakly open your eyes, halfway being the most you could muster. You are on your bed now, warmth somewhat returning to your extremities, as a voice echoes in your now pink ears.

"_______?" Equius asks quietly, leaning down to meet your half lidded gaze. 

"Eq..." You murmur, eyes closing again as your lungs ached to breathe. 

"Please stay awake, I have contacted Karkat and Feferi, they will be arriving shortly with more supplies." Equius says, sliding his hand onto your cheek and grasping it to meet your stunning (e/c) eyes.

You feel a bruise begin to form where Equius' hand is, but say nothing. "Fef... Kar... snowed in..." You mutter, breathing begining to ache less. 

"I informed them of your predicament and I do believe nothing will keep Vantas from helping someone who listens so well to his foal rants and is so kind." Equius spoke, slipping a horse pun into his speech to try and cheer you up. It worked, a small smile dancing across your bluish lips. Your smile seemed to help lighten Equius' mood as well, before he withdrew his hand. The loss of contact makes you slightly sad, a reflexive sigh escaping your lips as Equius retracted. This made the troll straighten his back, and let out an embarrassed cough as his cheeks began to tint blue. 

"How long... has it..." You croak out, doing your best to lighten the mood. 

"I moved you as soon as I discovered you, and you have been asleep for a few hours." Equius replies. "I am extremely glad you are awake, I would have demanded Kanaya to come and help get you to a human hospital had you not awoken soon." 

You weakly chuckle, "Thank you." You whisper before feeling your eyes droop closed again. 

"______ please stay with m-" Is all you catch before you're out again. 

 

"- warm enough?"  
" -more goddamn blankets-"  
" -language-"  
" Guys i think she's waking up-"

More voices are now swimming though your bedroom, a weight resting on the bed beside you and a warm towel now on your forehead. 

Your eyes flutter open, your breathing irregular and shallow. 

"_____?" You recognize Feferi's kind, gentle voice, and look over at the fuschia blood. You turn your head to see her better, realizing you were now laying down. 

"Fef...?" You breathe.

"Yeah, Karkat and Equius are here too." She says, somewhat cooing-ly. "How are you feeling?" She asks.

"I feel like shit," you say with a weak smile, and a cough racks your body. 

You can practically hear Equius tense at your swear, but he says nothing. 

"Warm enough?" She asks, removing the towel from your forehead. You nod, and try to sit up when-

"No way, moron, you're staying in that goddamn bed until you're back at one hundred and fifty fucking perfect." Karkat says, arms crossed and standing at the foot of your bed. You can now hear Equius sweating bullets. 

You let out a somewhat chuckle, and begin to move your arms and legs to get your blood pumping again. 

"______, you reel-ly scared us." Feferi says, meeting your (e/c) eyes. "Why didn't you say how seriously ill you were eel-ing?" She asks. 

Your voice comes more naturally this time, "I didn't wanna worry anyone." You say.

"Yeah, because freezing your ass off alone and nearly catching pneumonia again wouldn't worry anyone anyway." Karkat says, using his crabbiness to hide how worried he was. "Use your goddamn thinkpan next time, your health is more important than whatever bullshit rant I have or bulge-sucking roboscum Equius is fighting."

"Such 100d language Vantas..." Equius murmurs. 

"Equius?" you ask, looking down to catch a glimpse of the muscular figure standing in your doorway. "Thank you." you mutter, smiling as your breathing evens out and color begins to return to your face. 

Color begins to flush to Equius' face as well, as he excuses himself to go find a towel. 

"Rest up," Feferi says, patting the top of your head. "We'll be sure to take extra good glubbin' care of you." She says, running her hand through your (h/l) (h/c) hair. You happily oblige, closing your eyes and enjoying the warmth of the huge blanket pile you found yourself in, and air of caring friends. 

 

When you wake again, the room is quiet and there is a different weight on the bedside. You keep your eyes closed, hoping you could maybe return to dreamland when a familiar voice rings out. It's Equius, he's the one sitting beside you. 

"I am sorry I did not respond quicker. Maybe I could have reached you before you became this ill. I could have saved you from all this pain." He murmurs, weight shifting as he turns to you. He goes to brush some of the hair from in your eyes, and flinches as he now sees the newly formed dark bruise on your cheek. He quickly retracts his hand, squeezing it in his other and grinding his teeth together. "_____..." He whispers sadly. "I never wanted to hurt you... I want to protect you." 

At this point you feel your heart beat faster, your lips slightly parting. "If only I could tell you when you were awake." He speaks, moving away and settling with his head in his hands, you could guess as his voices bows out to nearly inaudible. 

"Equius..." you whisper, opening your eyes slowly. You feel the troll tense up immediately.

"_-___?" He stammers. 

You sit up, now closer to eye level with him. You lean forward, your hands resting on his cheeks, before you remove his sunglasses and hang them on the collar of your shirt. Your hands return to his now damp cheeks, but you don't mind. "Flushed for you too." You whisper, leaning forward and planting a gentle kiss just beside his lips, so not to kiss him without knowing he truly felt the same way. 

"Y-you.... Y-you're..." You can nearly see the steam fly out of his ears, his face flushing the deepest shade of blue you've ever seen. You smile warmly, and nod. 

"I love you Equius Zahhak." You say, as you lean forward again. Your lips hover just in front of his, waiting. "Do you-" You start, before you're interrupted by his lips meeting your own, hungrily. 

You take that as a yes.


End file.
